A blog that centers around the CT/NYC scene at Bulls Bridge and the adventures of the extended whitewater family in the area. Not always whitewater, not always the Housatonic, but most of the time.....

Friday, July 20, 2007

A good boat for it's time, the Turbo's two main ideas are better served when they are split into two different boats. For example, Ted moved from the Turbo to the Fish because the Fish is more playful and has more bounce. Maurice moved from a Turbo to the Pintail because it is faster and more predictable and stable.

I need to preface this by saying that I enjoyed paddling a Turbo for a year, but the Fish is what convinced me to move over to DragoRossi.The Turbo is a great boat but it tries to be too many things to too many people and ends up being too much of a compromise (at least in my opinion). There are lots of people who have gone from a spud, to a Turbo, to a Fish, so it's like a transition boat for many. I call it the "Fish training boat", (although I don't think the training part is needed)Additionally, the Pintail has the added length and volume needed to make a better river runner than the Turbo.

First thing you'll notice is the differences in rocker. A smooth transition and high rocker in the ends make for a drier, more predictable ride. And of course some length helps make the Pintail a much faster boat than the other two.

Larger cockpit and more knee room make the fish a better play-specific boat, and although the photo doesn't show it well, the Fish is shorter but for some reason maintains pretty much the same speed on a wave. Seeing the length difference in the Pintail is easy here. It also has the slightly larger cockpit and wider knee area, giving it easy control in the rough stuff, and that tail is a good length for stability.

All of these boats are fast, photos like this don't really reveal every factor that goes into a boat's speed. But notice the double concave in the Pintail. This is a technique used on beginner surf boards to make them plane up faster. It gives the Pintail unparalleled ability to catch fast waves on the fly. The Fish has a similar concept in the stern but leaves the bow nice and flat and clean for added slipper predictability. I think, from this view, that the Turbo shows it's surf heritage. The bit of slowness that it does have is probably more an issue with the little bit of "kick" rocker that was given to the boat.

Here are some off-angle shots of the Turbo and Fish so you can see how similar they are and how much of a natural progression forward the Fish is from the Turbo.

and some photos of the Pintail and the Turbo, which should help you understand how the Pintail took the river running intentions of the Turbo and pushed them to make a more predictable river runner.

Monday, July 16, 2007

I met up with a couple of my friends in Errol, NH on Friday night and we hiked into Smooth Ledge on the Rapid River in Maine on Saturday.

It's a nice place for park and play with a long runout, warm water, and smooth rock ledges to sun, socialize, and generally hang out for the day.

Here's Jeff Marquis sliding into Smooth Ledge for a bit of surfing action.

Look at Pat "mayor" Taft ripping it up with his hand paddles.

Smooth Ledge is a really friendly hole at 1300 with a good shoulder for surfing and a nice pocket for throwing down.

We ran into alot of local rippers, including Maine-native Chuck Mathieu.

I did put the camera down and jump into my boat for a few sessions too.

When the spot got a little crowded around lunch time we took inspiration from the cruisers and made the easy hike up a dirt road to the top of the three pitches. (then of course we went right back to surfing one of the best park and play features in the New England)

Friday, July 13, 2007

totally ripped this picture from him because it is so cool. Enjoy! (and look over on the DR message board to see the posting he made. I"m sure that he's got some more incredible photos that he will be putting up soon)

Saturday, July 07, 2007

I don't know what is appealing about this boat to the cboaters; if it's the simple lines that remind you of a nice open boat, the wide and stable cross section under the cockpit, or the height of the front of the cockpit rim that makes the conversion so easy. I'm what those kneelers call a butt boater so I can only speculate. Whatever the reason, the Critical Mass has been getting some good attention from cboaters lately. Take a look at these photos of a recent conversion that Rob sent me.

got a great email along with the photos (hope you don't mind me sharing Rob) My favorite part of this email is that he calls the Critical Mass the "X Mass". I love it!!! Enjoy the pictures.....

"HERE ARE SOME PICS OF X-MASS CONVERSION. WENT VERY SMOOTHLY, ONLY NEW HOLES DRILLED WERE FOR THE THIGH STRAPS. I USED A STOCK DAGGER PEDESTAL FROM AN OLD CASCADE, 4 OF THE 6 MOUNTS FROM THE KAYAK SEAT WERE USED TO ANCHOR IT. THE BOAT HANDLES VERY NICELY IN C-1 POSITION, MAY HAVE TO DO SOME MINOR TWEAKING-MOSTLY FOR COMFORT. ONLY HAD IT ON THE RIVER TWICE, BUT I AM VERY SATISFIED. COMPARED TO MY LOWER VOLUME BOATS, IT SURFACES LIKE A U-BOAT, WHICH IS KINDA FUN. ANYWAY, SO FAR SO GOOD."

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Like I said; I took lots of photos when I was at ASCI. The Friday night rodeo thing was a blast. It was held at the third adjustable play feature (a.k.a. feature "C"). Enjoy the photos of the event..............